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Good stewardship requires thoughtful risk-taking.


by Yvette van Niekerk


When the Lord Jesus was teaching the disciples, He told them the parable of the talents.

I believe we too can take a valuable lesson away from this parable. Two guys invested their money and multiplied their investments the third guy hid the money. He didn't want to lose the money, and he wasn't thinking clearly. His prejudice towards the manager made him fearful. The master said to this guy 'you wicked and lazy servant, you ought to have deposited my money, and I would have received back with interest.' This guy was thinking 'what if I fail?'

Matthew 25: 21 (TLB) "His master praised him for good work. 'You have been faithful in handling this small amount,' he told him, 'so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Begin the joyous tasks I have assigned to you.'"

Is failure a bad thing? What do we learn from failure? Well, I don't think it is terrible. The first time I baked a cake, I wasn't a successful baker. The cake looks good, but the taste was far from delicious. I risked baking a cake, and yes, it wasn't pleasant, but I heard about it and started trying out other recipes.  Today I am selling decoration cakes, and my business is growing. I failed, yes, and it took me several years to become successful. I am continually learning, and it was risky saying I can bake a cake. I thought, what have I to lose?

Matthew 25: 29 (TLB) "For the man who uses well what he is given shall be given more and he shall have abundance. But from the man who is unfaithful, even what little responsibility he has shall be taken from him."

My failure was training me to become successful. I learned what I was doing wrong and correcting it as I went along.
I believe God has been my safety net all along, but I still had to venture out and try.

Prayer
Father God, I am grateful that You are assessing my accomplishments and not the people in the world. I feel sure that I will not make it based on their assessment. Please keep Your hand over my life, forgive me for my insecurities, in the name of Jesus Amen.

Yvette van Niekerk

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